Travel 2019: Take off into new territories
By Desiree Koh
It’s that time of year when most scour the Ministry of Manpower’s 2019 public holiday schedule to make the most of long weekend escapades and extended getaways. We look at some of the trending destinations that Singaporeans will love in 2019.
Chengdu, China
With at least four long weekends – potentially six, with creative planning – micro-trips are sure to be big thing, and Chengdu, just a 4.5-hour flight away, promises quite an experience. Between giant pandas, an emerging hip-hop scene, and indie boutiques and galleries, it is easily among the Middle Kingdom’s coolest and most cosmopolitan cities. With its array of Sichuan classics, from dan dan noodles and mapo tofu to fiery hot pots, it also promises to be a culinary hit among foodies.
Transylvania, Romania
Between the Romanian countryside, home to Europe’s largest population of bears, wolves and lynxes, and a 13th-century swath of virgin forest speckled with Dacian fortresses, the Sighisoara citadel and Saxon fortified churches, Transylvania has much to offer. Soak in the folklore surrounding the Bran Castle of Dracula fame, or sip your way through one of Europe’s oldest wine regions, known for its spectacular sauvignon blancs and chardonnays. Try and score a room at Zalanpatak, a medieval home meticulously restored by the Land Beyond the Forests’ most ardent appreciator, Prince Charles.
Namibia, Southern Africa
Namibia’s stark landscapes present Earth’s own minimalist masterpiece. The raw beauty of its brilliant red sand dunes and rock formations, and free-roaming wildlife are set against one of the planet’s most sparsely populated countries. Namibia comes with the personal endorsement of Angelina Jolie, who said it represented “the effort to the balance between humans and the environment so crucial to our future.” It was Jolie who inspired luxury hotelier Zannier to build a boulder-top retreat overlooking Na’an ku se, a vast 9,000-hectare wildlife sanctuary. The recently-opened Shipwreck Lodge is an ideal base for climbing dunes, combing beaches for whale bones and spotting seal colonies.
Cairo, Egypt
Unleash your inner Indiana Jones in the City of a Thousand Minarets. The US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion), 5.2-million-square foot Grand Egyptian Museum opens in early 2019 and will become the world’s largest museum devoted to a single civilisation. It will also include the first-ever exhibit of boy king Tutankhamun and more than 5,000 of his favourite things. This sleek marble monument crowns one of the world’s oldest Islamic cities, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to the 10th century.
Miyajima, Japan
Japan’s top cities retain their hold over Singaporeans, but Miyajima, an hour outside Hiroshima, offers a novel experience. Paddle 200 metres out to get up close to the Itsukushima Shrine’s “floating” Great Gate, which rises almost 17 metres above Miyajima Island and is believed by locals to be the boundary between the spirit and human realms. The island itself is home to a stunning UNESCO World Heritage Shinto shrine and a renowned Noh theatre stage.
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